Tremissis (Coin) of Leo III

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

720–741

Byzantine, minted in Constantinople

Coins were an ideal way for Byzantine emperors to circulate their images throughout the empire and beyond, since they were used to pay for imported merchandise and to pay foreign mercenaries. They could also be employed as powerful vehicles for propaganda, promoting dynastic succession and emphasizing the earthly emperor’s god-given right to rule. Leo III (r. 717–41) chose to have an image of himself holding a globe surmounted by a cross on both sides of his coin.

From the fourth century on, the solidus was the preferred gold coin issued by Byzantine emperors. The solidus remained essentially unaltered in weight and purity until the tenth century. This coin depicting Leo III is a tremissis, worth one-third of 1 solidus.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Tremissis (Coin) of Leo III
Place: Istanbul (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Struck 720 CE–741 CE
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Diam.: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
Reference Number: 1940.20
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/36647/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.

Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871- 1964), Paris, London, and Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1940.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.